reaper

American  

[ree-per] / ˈri pər /

noun

1. a machine for cutting standing grain; reaping machine.

2. a person who reaps.

3. Grim Reaper.

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reaper British  

/ ˈriːpə /

noun

1. a person who reaps or a machine for reaping

2. death

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Etymology

Origin of reaper

before 1000; Middle English reper, Old English ripere. See reap, -er ¹

Explanation

The noun reaper refers to a person who harvests crops. If your part-time job involves harvesting corn by hand, then you're a reaper. Reaper can also refer to a piece of farm equipment used to harvest crops, especially grains. It's not a coincidence that reap looks a lot like the word ripe. When the crops are ripe — in Old English, "ready for reaping, fit for eating" — a reaper, either human or mechanical, can harvest them. Reap means "to cut grain with a hook or sickle." This might remind you of the Grim Reaper, the personification of death in art, movies, and stories, who is shown carrying a sickle and is said to be the harvester of souls.

Example Sentences

The U.S. military said in late September that it had permanently stationed MQ-9 reaper drones in South Korea to support surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 11, 2025

But two decades on, the grim reaper still walks the rows: 110 degrees, no tree, no tarp, a single water jug growing warm, its handle slick from dust and hands.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 14, 2025

When internet trolls called Doja Cat a Satanist, she cut off her hair, doused herself in fake blood, filmed a video in which she danced with the grim reaper, and called herself a "demon lord".

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2023

Ms. Council is making jam with pineapples or cantaloupe instead of peaches, and customers will have to wait until next year for her peach reaper sauce, made with Georgia peaches and Carolina reaper peppers.

From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2023

Today, thanks to the white reaper, Wayne Robbins alone could keep up with the task.

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson